Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) are widely used as a photocatalyst in air and water remediation. These nanoparticles are known to induce toxicity; however, their cytotoxic mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanism of nano-TiO2-induced cytotoxicity in peripheral blood lymphocytes. We examined the genotoxic effects of nano-TiO2 in lymphocytes using alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assays. Lymphocytes treated with nano-TiO2 showed significantly increased micronucleus formation and DNA breakage. Western-blot analysis to identify proteins involved in the p53-mediated response to DNA damage revealed the accumulation of p53 and activation of DNA damage checkpoint kinases in nano-TiO2-treated lymphocytes. However, p21 and bax, downstream targets of p53, were not affected, indicating that nano-TiO2 does not stimulate transactivational activity of p53. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in nano-TiO2-treated cells was also observed, andN-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation inhibited the level of nano-TiO2-induced DNA damage. Given that ROS-induced DNA damage leads to p53 activation in the DNA damage response, our results suggest that nano-TiO2 induces ROS generation in lymphocytes, thereby activating p53-mediated DNA damage checkpoint signals.

Abstract*Correspondence, page proofs, and reprint requests to: James D. Tucker, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences, 1370 Biological Sciences Building, 5047 Gullen Mall, Wayne State University, Detroit, TEL: (313) 577-2783, FAX: (313) 577-3602, EMAIL: E-mail: jtucker@biology.biosci.wayne.edu. z Retired Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Chromosome translocations in peripheral blood lymphocytes of normal, healthy humans increase with age, but the effects of gender, race, and cigarette smoking on background translocation yields have not been examined systematically. Further, the shape of the relationship between age and translocation frequency (TF) has not been definitively determined. We collected existing data from sixteen laboratories in North America, Europe, and Asia on TFs measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes by fluorescence in situ hybridization whole chromosome painting among 1933 individuals. In Poisson regression models, age, ranging from newborns (cord blood) to 85 years, was strongly associated with TF and this relationship showed significant upward curvature at older ages vs. a linear relationship (p <0.001). Ever smokers had significantly higher TFs than non-smokers (rate ratio (RR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09-1.30) and smoking modified the effect of age on TFs with a steeper age-related increase among ever smokers compared to non-smokers (p<0.001). TFs did not differ by gender. Interpreting an independent effect of race was difficult owing to laboratory variation. Our study is three times larger than any pooled effort to date, confirming a suspected curvilinear relationship of TF with age. The significant effect of cigarette smoking has not been observed with previous pooled studies of TF in humans. Our data provide stable estimates of background TF by age, gender, race, and smoking status and suggest an acceleration of chromosome damage above age 60 and among those with a history of smoking cigarettes. NIH Public Access

We assayed glutamate transport activity in cultures of rat cortical neurons containing < 0.2% astrocytes. Using [3H]L-glutamate as the tracer, sodium-dependent high affinity glutamate transport was demonstrated [K(m) = 17.2 +/- 2.4 microM; Vmax = 3.3 +/- 0.32 nmol/mg of protein/min (n = 5)]. Dihydrokainate (1 mM) inhibited uptake of radioactivity by 88 +/- 3% and had a Ki value of 65 +/- 7 microM. L-alpha-Aminoadipate (1 mM) inhibited uptake by only 25 +/- 4%. L-trans-2,4-Pyrrolidine dicarboxylate, L-serine-O-sulfate, and kainate potently inhibited transport activity with Ki values of 5.1 +/- 0.3, 56 +/- 6, and 103 +/- 9 microM, respectively (n = 3). Voltage-clamp studies of GLT1-expressing oocytes showed that, as in cortical neurons, glutamate transport was not inhibited by L-alpha-aminoadipate. Dihydrokainate was a potent inhibitor (Ki = 8 +/- 1 microM), and L-serine-O-sulfate produced a GLT1-mediated current with a K(m) value of 312 +/- 33 microM. Immunoblot analysis showed that neuronal cultures express excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1), shown previously to be relatively insensitive to dihydrokainate, plus a trace amount of GLT1, but no GLAST. These studies establish that a major component of the glutamate transport activity of cortical neurons is dihydrokainate sensitive and distinct from the previously recognized neuronal transporter excitatory amino acid carrier 1.

A safe alternative to the viral system used in gene therapy is a nonviral gene delivery system. Although polyethylenimine (PEI) and polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer are among the most promising gene-carrier candidates for efficient nonviral gene delivery, safety concerns regarding their toxicity remain. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the underlying mechanism of the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of PEI (25 kDa) and PAMAM (G4). To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the genotoxic effect of polymeric gene carriers. To evaluate cell death by PEI and PAMAM, we performed propidium-iodide staining and lactate-dehydrogenase release assays. The genotoxicity of the polymers was measured by comet assay and cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. PEI- and PAMAM-treated groups induced both necrotic and apoptotic cell death. In the comet assay and micronuclei formation, significant increases in DNA damage were observed in both treatments. We conclude that PEI and PAMAM dendrimer can induce not only a relatively weak apoptotic and a strong necrotic effect, but also a moderate genotoxic effect.

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